Dispensing apparatus



Feb.77,1939. c.s BEA1 'TY 2,145,965

DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 11, 1937 INVENTOR.

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BY WQ/ 5 ATTORNEYS.

Patented Feb. 7, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT FFiE Application August 11,

4 Claims.

This invention relates to the dispensing of icecream (or other plastic or semi-solid material), and consists both in method and in apparatus.

In the accompanying drawing, Fig. I is a view, partly in vertical section and partly in side elevation, of apparatus in which and in the operation of which the invention is realized; Fig. II is a view of the apparatus in plan from above; Fig. III is an isometric view of one of the servings of ice-cream dispensed by the apparatus; and Fig. IV is a view in side elevation and to larger scale of a particular part of the apparatus.

The apparatus of the invention will ordinarily be organized with a refrigerated cabinet of the sort in which ice-cream is commonly stored, and the usual ice-cream containers (cylindrical cans, normally of five gallon capacity) are assembled with the apparatus within such cabinet. The apparatus embodies a ram or jack for forcing the ice-cream upward within the container, in such manner that a portion of the column projects from the mouth of the container, and at the top of the container means are provided for slitting the projecting portion of the body of ice-cream into blocks of uniform size.

Having in mind that such use of rams or jacks was proposed years ago, and recalling the age old practice of slitting cheese and butter into blocks or slabs of desired size, it is to be understood that the present invention lies in a new and useful organization of instrumentalities that severally may or may not have been known to the art. The invention embraces particular refinements in the construction of such instrumentalities, and in mode or method of operation.

In exemplary way, the invention will be described in apparatus adapted to receive a single ice-cream can or container, and it may be noted that the refrigerated cabinet (in which the apparatus will normally be organized) has been omitted from the drawing for convenience in illustration. Of course, when the apparatus is used dispensing cheese, or certain other plastic or semi-solid materials, refrigeration may not be required, but in the case of ice-cream it is, and the mechanic will readily perceive how the apparatus may be assembled in a refrigerated cabinet of usual sort.

Referring to the drawing, the apparatus of the invention includes a stool l adapted to receive the base of an ice-cream container 2. The base of the container is rigidly secured to the stool, by any suitable means, say a bayonet-joint union, or one or more clamping screws 3. Embodied in the structure of the stool is a ram or jack, ad-

1937, Serial No. 158,502

vantageously a hydraulic ram including a cylinder 4 and a plurality of telescopic plungers a, b, c, d. The telescopic ram is arranged in axial alignment with the axis of the can, and as will presently appear is adapted to elevate the column IC of ice-cream within the can.

A tank 5, appearing in the form of a C in plan, is arranged in the stool, as shown, substantially encompassing the telescopic ram 5. This tank holds a store of alcohol or other suitable liquid for operating the ram. A plunger pump 6 is included in the stool structure; the reciprocating piston of the pump is connected to a rod 1 that extends to the top of the container 2 and is provided with a handle 8 (which in this case is readily detachable), whereby the plunger may be conveniently reciprocated by hand, to charge liquid from the tank 5 into the ram 4 under necessary operating pressure. The hydraulic connection of tank, ram and pump consists in a pipe 9, extending from an outlet H1 in the bottom of the tank to an inlet ii in the top of the tank; the intake and discharge outlet of the pump comprise one and the same duct 12, connected to pipe 9, as shown, with a check-valve I3 arranged in the pipe between the pump and the supply of liquid in tank 5. The inlet to the telescopic ram is connected to pipe 9 by means of a lead i l, with a check-valve l5 interposed between the ram and the pump. Adjacent to its upper end the pipe 9 includes a stop-valve it which is normally closed. The check-valve l3 permits flow in the pipe 9 from the tank 5 to the pump 6, but prevents flow in opposite direction, while check-valve l5 permits flow from pump to ram and prevents flow in opposite direction. Thus, when the plunger of the pump is reciprocated fluid is drawn from the tank 5 and forced under pressure into the ram 4, and in knownway the telescopic plungers a, b, c and d of the ram are caused powerfully to rise.

The bottom 2a of the ice-cream container is centrally windowed, at 22), to permit vertical ascent of the ram plungers. The container is provided with a false bottom 20, upon which the bottom of the column IC of ice-cream immediately rests, and, when the ram is operated, the central plunger a thereof, rising under the force of the injected fluid, engages the false bottom of the container (Fig. I) and elevates the column of ice-cream, until the top of the column projects from the top of the container. In accordance with the invention, means are organized with the top of the container for slitting the projecting portion of the column of ice-cream, to provide blocks of predetermined and uniform size.

Such slitting means consist in a circular frame l6 of metal, supporting four diametrical wires I! (Fig. II) strung tautly, and angularly spaced in such manner as to divide the area within the frame into eight equal segments. As shown in Fig. IV, the frame I6 is provided at its top and bottom edges with outward extending flanges l8, and such flanges provide support for four stems l9. Each of the four Wires I1 is anchored at one end to the wall at one side of the frame, and the opposite end of the wire is passed through the wall at the opposite side of the frame (a suitable orifice being provided in the wall) and wound upon a stem it. By rotating the stems in, the wires may be drawn to desired tautness, and nuts 20, threaded on the bottoms of the stems, are tightened against the face of lower flanges l8, to secure the stems in adjusted positions.

It will be noted be Fig. IV that the wires ll extend in substantially common plane, lying adjacent to but above the lower edge of the frame fl. Two handles iii are provided to facilitate the manipulation of the frame in the manner described below.

In service, when the container 2 has been secured on stool i, the frame iii is seated upon the top of the container, with the wires ll resting upon the upper edge of the container, as illustrated in Fig. I. Then, while holding the frame E6 in such position, the pump 5 is operated, the ram rises, and the column of icecream is elevated, forcing the upper end of the column between the wires if and into the frame above the top of the container. Thus, the pertion of the column of ice-cream rising above the top of the container is slit on vertical planes '1) that extend radially of the column, and when the column has risen to such position that its top T reaches the elevation in which it is shown in Fig. I, the operation of the pump is arrested. Then the frame it is rotated and the wires I! caused to slit the column of ice-cream on a horizontal plane h, the plane of the top edge of the container. In such manner the body of ice-cream projecting from the mouth of the container is divided into eight equal blocks B of the shape shown in Fig. III. These blocks, slit and detached in such way from the column I'-C, may be removed and served as desired, and the service may be made either on a plate or in an appropriately shaped cone of pastry.

When the eight blocks B have been removed, the operation is repeated again, and so on until the entire contents of the container have been dispensed.

Whereas in the method described in the above specification, the slitting device i6, l l is held .pon the top of the container 2 while the column of ice-cream is being elevated, it is to be understood that, alternately, the ice-cream may be first elevated the desired interval and then the slitting device applied and pressed downward over the projecting portion of the column of V ice-cream, until the wires .ll come into contact with the top edge of the container. Thereupon, the slitting device is rotated, and blocks B detached from the column, as already described;

Advantageously, the column, of ice-cream is provided with a jacket or coating 22 of waxed paper when it is initially packed in the container 2. The jacket prevents the ice-cream from freezing to the walls of the container and reduces the frictional resistance to the rise'of column within the container. And in still further elaboration the paper jacket is circumferentially perforated or scored at intervals 23. spaced apart vertically as to afford means for gauging the vertical movement of the column of ice-cream through the desired interval in each equal vertical These lines of weakness are so,

column-elevating operation'of the ram or jack 4. In the ram operations the circumferential 20 7 lines of perforations may be sighted (the uppermost line first then the next lower, etc.) with" r the top edge of the container, to afford the de-' sired indication. And additionally the perforations facilitate the tearing and stripping of the jacket sections from the projected and slitted body portions of the column of ice-cream.

It will be understood that the terms of the appended claims admit of certain modification in apparatus and method without departing from the essence of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. Dispensing apparatus. including a container for a column of semi-solid material; a frame member supporting a plurality of taut wires intersecting one another in the plane of the mouth of said container; means for elevating the column in the container, whereby the upper body portion of the column is by said intersecting wires slit on vertical planes; said frame, being rotatable, whereby said wires sever the slit body portion from the column on a plane extending transversely of the axis of the column, to provide a plurality of blocks of said material.

2. The structure of claim 1, in' which said. wires intersect at a point common with the axis of said container, I 3. The structure of claim 1, in which all of said wires intersect at a common point. r

4. In ice-cream dispensing apparatus, a falsebottomed container for a column of ice-cream, a hydraulic jack organized at the bottom of said container, means for supplying fiuid under pressure to said jack and causing the jack to ele-- vate said column of ice-cream into such position that a portion of the column projects from the top of said container, and means for slitting the projecting body portion of ice-cream in vertical planes, said means being rotatable for cutting theslit body portion on horizontal,

plane. 7

CHARLES S. BEAT'I'Y. 

